Non-point pollution hearings coming soon

The Wisconsin DNR will soon hold a series of public hearings on proposed revisions to administrative rules regulating non-point pollution. Administrative rules implement the statutes enacted by Wisconsin Legislature and have the full force and effect of law. Look here for a list of upcoming hearing locations.

The proposed changes would--among other things--create new agricultural standards to further limit the amount of fertilizer and manure carried into water bodies. They would also allow municipalities more time to meet the requirement that they reduce the amount of stormwater pollutants.

Furthermore, new performance standards are being proposed: the Phosphorus Index and Tillage Setback. The Phosphorus Index is a planning tool for assessing the potential of croplands, pastures and winter grazing areas to contribute phosphorus to the nearest waterbody. The Tillage Setback performance standard is designed to protect the structural integrity of streambanks and shorelines from tillage operations and to prevent the direct application of sediment to state waters.

Learn more about the proposed administrative rule changes—and the Wisconsin Buffer Initiative that recommended many of them—at the following websites:

Nonpoint Source Program Administrative Rules

Wisconsin Buffer Initiative

Public hearings set on DNR's proposed runoff rules

In the news: Groundwater

There has been much written recently about a new work group in the Wisconsin State Legislature. A seven-person committee has begun examining groundwater regulation in Wisconsin. The legislature is debating tighter regulation of this resource, one that supplies 70% of drinking water in the state.

To assist our readers in understanding the issues Wisconsin faces, here are a few useful links to get your started:

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Groundwater page

Bibliography on groundwater from the Legislative Reference Bureau Library

Ground-water data for Wisconsin (from the U.S. Geological Survey, Wisconsin Water Science Center)

Wisconsin Natural Resources Magazine article (2006) on 'Wisconsin's Buried Treasure.'

Link to list of publications on groundwater, from WDNR

Groundwater Coordinating Council - an interagency group that is directed by law to assist State agencies in the coordination and exchange of information related to groundwater programs.

Central Wisconsin Groundwater Center - UW Stevens Point

And of course, Wisconsin's Water Library has a recommended reading list of items that anyone is Wisconsin can check out. Just send an email to askwater@aqua.wisc.edu

President Obama Signs Great Lakes Restoration Initiative into Law

With Obama's signature on the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, work has quickly begun. One of the guiding documents will be the Wisconsin Great Lakes Strategy from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Read it.

WDNR has a Web page for the GLRI....

New proposed rule for airport deicing operations

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced a proposal for more environmentally friendly practices for airport deicing discharges while maintaining the safety of airport operations. The new proposed rule will be published in the Federal Register, with a 120 day public comment period.

Read the EPA press release.

The full details from EPA are presented here.

Fertilizer containing phosphorus

On April 14, 2009, Wisconsin passed new legislation on the use and sale of fertilizer containing phosphorus and other turf fertilizer and providing a penalty.

To read more, go to 2009-2010 Wisconsin Acts.

Earth Day television programs

During the week before Earth Day on April 22, Wisconsin Public Television and FRONTLINE present different programs related to our continuing struggle to lessen our footprint for future generations. Be sure to tune in.

“Earth Day and Beyond: Gaylord Nelson’s Good Fight,” a one-hour documentary about the late U.S. senator from Wisconsin for whom the Nelson Institute is named, will air on The Wisconsin Channel, the digital multicast service of Wisconsin Public Television, several times this month. The broadcast times are:

* Fri, 4/17/09 at 7:00 p.m.
* Sat, 4/18/09 at 2:00 a.m.
* Mon, 4/20/09 at noon
* Tue, 4/21/09 at 6:00 a.m.

Nelson conceived the first Earth Day, celebrated on April 22, 1970, to put environmental issues on the national political agenda. Its success paved the way for 28 major federal legislative acts, including the act that created the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Source: The Nelson Institute Blog

More than three decades after the Clean Water Act, two iconic waterways—the great coastal estuaries Puget Sound and the Chesapeake Bay—are in perilous condition. With polluted runoff still flowing in from industry, agriculture, and massive suburban development, scientists fear contamination to the food chain and drinking water for millions of people. A growing list of endangered species is also threatened in both estuaries. As a new president, Congress, and states set new agendas and spending priorities, FRONTLINE correspondent Hedrick Smith examines the rising hazards to human health and the ecosystem, and why it’s so hard to keep our waters clean.

FRONTLINE Examines Newest Health Hazards in Nation's Contaminated Waterways

FRONTLINE Presents
Poisoned Waters
Tuesday, April 21, 2009, from 9 to 11 P.M. ET on PBS

Great Lakes Compact goes into effect Dec. 8

MADISON – The Great Lakes Compact takes effect Dec. 8, ushering in a new era of cooperation and conservation among those states that border the five Great Lakes, which hold one-fifth of the world’s fresh surface water.
The historic agreement binding Wisconsin and seven other Great Lakes states largely prohibits water from being diverted outside the Great Lakes basin while committing residents and businesses within the basin to sustainably use that water.

Read more from Wisconsin's DNR...